June 07, 2007

The New york Times grows the balls to ask the question

Lets see if Pelosi's 'most ethical Congress abides':

EditorialOut From the Ethical Deep Freeze

Just as House Democrats’ fervid promises of ethics reform are running out of steam comes the bribery indictment of one of their own, William Jefferson, the Louisiana representative accused of stashing $90,000 in marked bills in his home freezer. Surely the image of Mr. Jefferson allegedly using the Congressional dining room to transact quid-pro-quo corruption schemes is the strongest possible wake-up call for foot-dragging members to face up to the need for aggressive ethics enforcement. The existing ethics committee produced cobwebs, not early-warning alerts, as recent scandals were launching several lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists on prison careers.

The timing could not be better for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to offer Congress and its doubting constituents the strongest possible proposal for the creation of an independent office to oversee ethics enforcement. A bipartisan task force has been studying this campaign promise, and the speaker is reportedly ready to sign off on some sort of an oversight panel of respected outsiders. Details are thus far scarce. But if Congress wants to repair its tattered reputation, it is crucial to resist cosmetic change. For any independent panel to be convincing it must be given the power to investigate corruption allegations and make recommendations to the ethics committee for forceful action.